Business Class!

I made our reservations for our flight home. Flying to Detroit from Thailand is miserable. It's about a 23 hour trip, with a 2-hour layover in Tokyo. That 2-hour layover is just enough time to clear security, use a restroom, and board the next flight. Having to clear security again in Tokyo baffles me. I have been nowhere but the airport boarding gate or 35,000 feet since the last time I cleared security. Precisely how was I supposed to acquire any contraband?

Flying Coach, aka cattle car, is a horror. There is enough leg room for your knees to clear the back of the seat in front of you, and not an inch more. The food is barely edible, and frequently barely warm. Trying to use a restroom is an exercise in quick reflexes, as they no longer allow a queue to form. You might be terrorists standing in line by the restroom doors to plot, not merely passengers who desperately need to relieve themselves.

Thank God for frequent flyer miles.

I was able to use those miles to upgrade our Coach price tickets to Business Class. Flying Business class on an international flight is almost a joy. I will be able to sleep, because my seat will recline nearly flat instead of nearly reclining. The food is quite good, and comes on a real plate, with metal utensils, fabric napkin, and even a small fabric tablecloth for my tray table. I particularly enjoy relaxing with a free glass of white wine while cattle car loads, and it comes in a stemmed glass, not a plastic cup.

You get greeted by name, and they really do try to make you comfortable. You get a pillow, blanket, slippers or socks, toothbrush and toothpaste, comb, and one of those nightshades to cover your eyes for sleeping. They will let you sleep through a meal in Coach, but if you do you simply miss the meal. In Business Class they will bring you that meal as soon as you wake. You have three feet of leg room, and all seats are either aisle or window. Best of all, you have a place to plug in your laptop, PDA, or Kindle to recharge it for the long, long trip.

I like flying Business Class.